Monday, September 1, 2014

College Football Week 1 Reaction

Okay, so there's one more game tonight (Louisville vs. Miami) but for the most part everyone has played. I'm gonna run through the preseason AP top 25 poll and give my thoughts on each team. Hopefully I can keep it to just a sentence or two for each so it's not exhausting to read. Can't promise anything when I get to those #16 Tigers but here we go. Also keep in mind that I didn't watch ALL games. Just a basic reaction to the games.

1. Florida State Seminoles (vs. Oklahoma State, W 37-31): Not impressed, easily could've lost the game if it weren't for a late OK State fumble. But WOW Jameis

2. Alabama Crimson Tide (vs. West Virginia, W 33-23): Also not impressed, but Nick Saban will figure their issues out. Blake Simms did not look good.

3. Oregon Ducks (vs. South Dakota, W 62-13): It was South Dakota but the Ducks offense looked the same as always.

4. Oklahoma Sooners (vs. Louisiana Tech, W 48-16): Solid win. Exactly what you need to do against teams like this.

5. Ohio State Buckeyes (vs. Navy, W 34-17): Obviously, they weren't expected to be a top 5 team once Braxton Miller went down, but the Buckeyes did NOT look good against Navy, who sucks.

6. Auburn Tigers (vs. Arkansas, W 45-21): Auburn struggled early but pulled away in the second half. Huge running game helped with that.

7. UCLA Bruins (@ Virginia, W 28-20): I know it's tough to come to the East coast and play a noon game, but UCLA did not look like a top 10 team and Brett Hundley did not look like a Heisman candidate. Lucky for them, the defense came up with 3 TDs.

8. Michigan State Spartans (vs. Jacksonville State, W 45-7): Spartans did what they needed to do against the far less talented opponent.

10. Baylor Bears (vs. SMU, W 45-0): All around excellent win for Baylor. Everyone knew their offense could get it done, but the defense showed up as well. SMU isn't Alabama, but it's not Jacksonville State either. Good win.

11. Stanford Cardinal (vs. UC Davis, W 45-0): Much like Oklahoma and Michigan State, the Cardinal took care of business against a terrible team.

16. Clemson Tigers (@ #12 Georgia, L 45-21): UGH. OC Chad Morris' play calling was awful. Needed bigger plays downfield and they never came in the second half. The defense won't be as good as it can and should be if they're on the field every second of the game. Georgia was the better team and Todd Gurley is a frickin beast, but it could've been a closer game (hence the tie game at half). Chad Morris needed to be better in the second half. That being said, I was slightly (very) aroused by this throw:

17. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (vs. Rice, W 48-17): Everett Golson returned and had a hand in 5 TDs. Exactly what the Irish needed from him. Rice sucks but good win.

18. Ole Miss Rebels (vs. Boise State, W 35-13): Bo Wallace struggled in the first half, throwing 3 picks, but so did the Boise State QB. Wallace bounced back to finish with 4 TDs and Ole Miss used a 28 point 4th quarter to run away from the Broncos. Not impressive, but a nice win considering how much they sucked in the first half.